It Ends in the East
by RomanticallyChallenged
Summary: Trulyn Tulie had her career set being an illegal fighter. Her unnatural fighting instincts kept her at the top for months until things got out of control and Trulyn finds herself in a mad dash for freedom and peace only to find her life is about to be a lot more complicated with the people in a small mountain town, will Trulyn be able to discover the secrets they're keeping in time
1. Chapter 1

The story It Ends in the East is being written with the combined efforts my friend D and I. While we are both contributing to the plot she handles most of the writing and I edit and post the story for her. We also created a tumblr page where we'll be posting all of our reference pictures and character information.

blog/itendsintheeast

\- M

Chapter One

Trulyn's fist connected with her opponent, she could feel the girl's jaw dislocate as her knuckles smashed into her face. Trulyn watched as the light left the girl's eyes, she was knocked out and her body fell limp to the floor, a long slow trail of blood leaked from her nose to the floor. As she surveyed the filthy warehouse basement that served as the mock arena she was hyper aware of everything that was happening around her, she could smell the sweat and the blood, her ears pounded at the constant base of voices from the crowd. The girl stared into oblivion, her arms frozen in place as if she thought she was still in the fight, unfortunately for her it was all over; Trulyn was still the undefeated champion of the female's underground fighting ring.

"That's it ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice took over and Trulyn was snapped back into reality. The announcer walked proudly over to Trulyn's side and reached for her arm, lifting it high into the air. "Our champion Tru has held her spot once again!"

Trulyn watched as the rival team climbed into the ring to retrieve their fallen fighter, she analyzed all of their faces, most of them couldn't look her in the eye and Trulyn wondered if it was because of her two different colored eyes or if it was because that this girl was the one she was supposed to lose to. Either way Trulyn stayed perfectly still, watching them with unwavering eyes as they climbed back out of the ring and disappeared back into the shadows of the crowd. Trulyn sighed with a bit of annoyance; she would have to watch her back after she left the ring tonight.

Trulyn was led back to her dressing room by two large men posing as security, Tru had sized them both up months ago when she had first started, she had a better chance at defending herself then letting these two idiots try to fight for her, then again they hadn't been hired for their skills, just their looks alone. Trulyn enter her room and closed the door, locking it as softly as she could, Maxwell would be looking for her, he had cornered her earlier that day at the bar where Trulyn worked part time, and she had still been surprised he had found her. Trulyn had managed to live as far away as possible from the fighting ring as she could to keep a low profile and Maxwell had just strolled in off the street. He was warning her to lose to his fighter; he had invested a large amount in her and was determined to scare Trulyn into giving the fight. Trulyn never took threats lightly but she wasn't going to just throw a fight because someone threatened her to. The girl had walked into the ring cocky and that had immediately pissed her off, the fight didn't even last the first round.

Trulyn kept her eye on the door and her hearing sharp as she cleaned herself off, throwing on her regular clothes and checking the door every few seconds as she did. She checked her face in the mirror, her dark brown and light blue eyes stared back at her with a primal look that almost scared her. She smiled to herself suddenly; well if they wanted a fight tonight she was ready. Trulyn let her long, wavy black hair down and fluffed it a bit. The tips of her hair brushed against her elbows and she flicked her head to the side to get at a knot that had worked itself into the small hairs at the back of her neck. After she was content with the way she looked, Trulyn headed back for the door, unlocked it and stepped out. The two men peered down at her in unison and Trulyn gave them both a nod as she went her own way after being paid. The underground ring had already been cleared, all that was left was a single man cleaning up the worst of the trash that was lying about, the sound of beer bottles and cans clinked and echoed out of the darkness. The smell of sweat hung in the air like a low hanging cloud and Trulyn found herself trying not to gag on it as she made her way out. She hopped up the stairs, taking four or more at a time and opened the heavy double doors into the cold night air. The cool wind whipped her hair around and sent a cool shiver down her spine. It was a clear night and the fresh air was more than welcoming, Trulyn breathed in deeply a few times and enjoyed it.

"I wonder where they're at," Trulyn whispered to herself as she let out a long sigh, she could faintly smell the lingering hints of that disgusting cologne that Maxwell had been wearing. She remembered how it had smelt earlier that day when he had leaned in close to her, it was too strong and overwhelmed the whole area making Trulyn wrinkle her nose as it burnt her nostrils.

They were sitting in wait for her, Trulyn just didn't know how many of them there were so she decided to act natural and start walking, if they wanted to confront her then they had to make the first move. She walked confidently down the alley way, the night sky was clear of clouds and the stars were shining bright, the moon was full and casting shadows from the buildings that lined the sides of the alley like labyrinth walls. Stray cats went slinking into the shadows as Trulyn approached, her boots hardly making a sound as she walked down the pavement. She glanced around herself at the surroundings, there were no ways out besides going straight, and all the emergency ladders were hanging just out of reach tantalizing right below the second story. The sudden puff of chilled breath in the night air caught Trulyn's attention and she turned to see a tall man materialize in front of her at the opening ahead, then another appeared beside him, then another. She could smell Maxwell before she could see him but she knew he was behind his goonies. He clapped loudly, the two tallest ones making way for him, there he stood clapping slowly at her with a sour smile on his face.

"I gotta hand it to you doll, you made short work of my girl but," Maxwell spoke as he took off his sunglasses that Trulyn suspected were cheap knock offs. "I didn't expect you to be so stupid as to ignore my warning."

"You know it's a little dark to be wearing sunglasses." Trulyn pointed out bluntly, scratching the back of her head.

"Excuse me?" Maxwell lifted an eyebrow at Trulyn, she shrugged her shoulders and dropped her hands to her side.

"You know with it being night and all," Trulyn paused and there was a long silence, " _sun_ glasses."

"You sure have quite the nerve to be acting so cocky," Maxwell chuckled, cracking his knuckles.

"Oh so you're going to fight me now?" Trulyn smiled broadly at the little man, Maxwell was only an inch taller than her but she still found it easy to look down on him.

"Oh course not," Maxwell scoffed, his face twisted into disgust as he stared back at Trulyn.

"Oh well good 'cuz for a moment there I thought you wanted your ass beat too," Trulyn coughed to try to hide the laugh that had escaped her throat. "So what you're going to get your three butt buddies here to beat up a girl in a back alley? That's classy."

"You made me lose my money, I'm going to make sure you won't be able to come back to the ring for quite some time. Any last words before my men here beat you within an inch of your life?"

"You bet on the wrong bitch?" Trulyn shrugged.

Maxwell grit his teeth together and signaled to his men, the three of them stepped out in front of Maxwell and closed in on Trulyn. Trulyn hunched into her fighting stance and faced the men head on, three on one wasn't going to be fun but she wasn't going down without a fight. She saw the first one move out of the corner of her eye, he lunged and tried to grab Trulyn around the waist, she shot her fist up and connected with his throat. The man choked and took a step but before Trulyn could finish him with a kick a large hand reached out and threw her to the side. Trulyn looked up to see the second man raise his fist and slam it down at her, she was able to move her head quickly to avoid most of the damage but his two outer knuckles caught her cheek. Trulyn cringed and grunted as she kicked up with both of her feet, putting all of her body weight into her attack and knocked the man back.

Trulyn hunched into a boxing pose and cautiously looked between the three men, she could feel the thumping pain in her cheek but she ignored it as best as she could. The smallest man of the three lunged, a hand ready to grab Trulyn by the front of her shirt but she threw a kick up and connected with the man's jaw. Not wanting to waste any time, Trulyn threw a punch at his stomach and the man wheezed as the air left his lungs. Trulyn spun in her foot and let her heel hit the man's temple. He crumpled to the ground and didn't move again. Trulyn whipped her head to the side to face her next opponent but was too late and took a hard hit to her face. The force of the punch made her stumble and she fell back into the arms of the second man. He grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her, Trulyn let out a painful scream but stayed still. Maxwell's lips curled into a victorious grin as he walked up to where the man had Trulyn trapped and took Trulyn's chin in his hand. He took turns looking at Trulyn's brown and blue eye then sighed with a bit of a sad frown.

"Now see you could have avoided this if you had just lost your match tonight champ, but you just couldn't let it go could you?"

"Oh come on man, you think I was going to give up my undefeated title to some gangly hooker you got off the side of the street? That just looks bad on my part, plus she went into the ring way too cocky, I guess I just got a bit carried away."

Maxwell backhanded Trulyn, his hand left a stinging mark on her skin but Trulyn laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Dude who wears sunglasses at night? Like really, what? You thought that was going to intimidate me?" Trulyn slowly leveled her gaze with Maxwell and smiled with a dark amusement in her eyes. "Let me show you intimidating."

Trulyn snapped her lower body up with lightning speed and threw her legs over Maxwell's shoulder, twisting her legs with her body weight to throw him off balance and threw him to the ground. Trulyn's feet rotated and tapped the ground before she jumped up and angled her upper body forward while she kicked the man who had her arm right in the chest. He lost the grip on Trulyn and she tumbled forward, doing a front flip before jumping and rotating her body in the air to knock the second man in the head with a well-placed kick. The man hit the ground but Trulyn grabbed his shirt and slammed her fist into his face over and over again until there was blood pouring from his nose and busted lip. Something suddenly came over Trulyn, a primal urge to finish the men creeped into her mind and she stared into the man's eyes with an icy cold gaze void of pity. Trulyn turned to face Maxwell and his other goon and smiled before taking the man's head in her hands, ripping her grip to the side she felt a snap and the man became dead weight. She let his head slip from her grip and he tumbled to the ground, his body seizing in a blind attempt to figure out what had just happened even though his mind was already gone.

Maxwell stared speechless at Trulyn for only a second before his face twisted with rage and he was pointing at her but his voice and words were nothing more than a buzz in Trulyn's ears, she was stepping forward towards him, something was egging her on and as she got closer she could see the fear manifest in Maxwell's eyes but before she could get close to him the last remaining man jumped her and threw his body weight against her. The force of the blow knocked Trulyn out of the trance she was in and she shook her head and looked around, fully aware of her surroundings again. Her eyes fell on the dead body and her eyes widened in fear.

"Shit," Trulyn turned to see Maxwell, his face was red as he screamed at her but everything was happening so fast his words were a jumbled mess in her mind. Trulyn jumped to her feet before the last man could grab a hold of her and she turned and ran as fast as she could.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Trulyn's motorcycle came to a screeching halt just outside her apartment complex, she jumped off the bike like a bat out of hell and ran for the door, throwing it open with all of her strength and dashing up the stairs. A bead of sweat sunk down into her eye and stung her vision but she ignored it as she ran. By the time she had reached the fifth floor, Trulyn was out of breath and could hear her heart in her ears. She opened the door from the stairway and cautiously looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her. She then bolted for her door and threw the door open, she had no time to think, Trulyn just knew she had to get out of town before shit hit the fan. It wasn't the first time that Trulyn found herself in a mad rush to leave a city and move on to another area, she had gotten into plenty of fights and brawls where things went spiraling out of control however this was the first fight she had been in where she herself actually killed someone. Trulyn paused for a moment to rethink about what happened, the man's face seem plastered to the inside of her brain but she shook the image away, death didn't really bother her but just the fact that she had killed someone made her a bit shaky.

Trulyn ran for the small closet next to the front door and grabbed her larger gym bag. Cursing herself for not having her go bag ready like she usually did. Things had been going well for her here, she hadn't thought she would need to be ready to leave so soon. She jumped up and ran for the bedroom with her bag in hand, flicking the light on and rummaging through the lone dresser that sat near the side of the bed. She grabbed what she could carelessly stuffing random articles of clothing into the oversized bag. She rushed out of the cramped bedroom and into the adjacent and equally cramped bathroom packing the basic essentials she thought she would need into the smaller pockets of the bag. Trulyn then zipped up the bag, tossed it on the bed and did a quick sweep of the apartment to make sure she wasn't leaving anything valuable - or incriminating - behind. There were voices outside in the hallway and Trulyn immediately froze and zeroed in on the voices, she stood shaking like a cornered animal for a few moments before she realized that it was just her neighbors from across the hall. Trulyn snapped back into her mad rush and ran back to the bedroom snatching the bag of clothes and a smaller bag that contained her gym equipment and rushed out of the room picking up her wallet and keys on the way out.

Trulyn paused for a moment to listen outside the door, calming her breathing as best she could so she could focus, she didn't hear anything and cautiously opened the door a crack to peak outside. When she didn't see anyone standing in the hall Trulyn ripped the door open and tore down the hallway, leaving everything else in her apartment behind. When Trulyn got to the end of the hallway she stopped for only a split second to decide whether to take the stairs or the elevator, both had their advantages and disadvantages but she finally opted for the elevator, it was quicker than the stairs and if there was one thing that Trulyn needed, it was speed. The short wait inside the elevator felt like an eternity to Trulyn as she watched the little light for the floors tick by until it finally came to a slow stop on the main floor. The doors slid open with a happy ding and she had to fight the urge to bolt out the elevator and scramble for the front doors. She glanced around but saw no one that looked menacing so she let allowed herself to slow in her walk and tried to breath.

Trulyn opened the doors as casually as she could, looking around before she made her way over to her bike pulling the strap of the larger bag over her shoulder so it hung across her back and strapping the smaller bag down to the bike, glancing around nervously as she did. When the bags were secure Trulyn hopped on the bike and started the engine pulling on her helmet and took off down the dark street. The anxiety she felt while she was in her apartment had increased tenfold no that she was out in the open and exposed. Maxwell could be anywhere with more goons and who knows what he would do knowing that she killed one of his men and almost attacked Maxwell himself. Trulyn couldn't stop herself from thinking of all the things that might happen to her if they did manage to catchup with her. She gritted her teeth and tried not to lose her composure as she attempted to blend in with the traffic of the down town area. As Trulyn rode past the intersections her heart began to calm and she finally started to relax a little. It seemed like a totally normal night around her, no screaming or crazy gun fire, and no car chases. Trulyn leaned back on her bike a little and let herself relax completely, there was no way Maxwell would find her now, she just had to make it out of the down town area and then she'd almost be home free.

As Trulyn stopped at another intersection she waited out in front of the line, looking up at the light and trying to will it to change early.

"Hey!" an angry voice yelled out into the night and Trulyn whipped around, her eyes wide with terror but when she turned to see who had yelled it had just been a waiter and a customer having a quarrel outside. Trulyn let out a sigh of relief and let herself relax again, she glanced around at her surroundings and was beginning to think she was going to be alright. The traffic to the right was beginning to add up as the cars lined up for the light to change, Trulyn was looking over the different cars, not really thinking about it as she gazed around. There was a black SUV that sat at the front of the line and Trulyn was just wondering about their fully tinted windows when the driver's side window rolled down and the man behind the wheel stared over at her. His lips moved, he was speaking to someone and Trulyn slowly frowned, the window behind the driver's seat slowly slid down and there was Maxwell's face.

"Shit!" Trulyn sucked in a breath of air, Maxwell pointed to her and the man behind the wheel turned to look back at her, Maxwell screamed and Trulyn cranked the gas, turning into the right hand turn lane and zipped by the SUV. She could hear screeching wheels behind her and when Trulyn looked back the SUV's headlights were gaining on her.

"That's an illegal turn!" Trulyn yelled up into the night before cranking on the gas, sending the bike lurching forward. Trulyn hunched down, hoping that somehow the action might make her faster or a smaller target if guns were pulled. Trulyn zipped in and out of traffic, making sure that the SUV was at least two cars behind her at all time. Just when she was beginning to believe Maxwell wouldn't pull anything dangerous out in the open there was the clear shot of a gun being fired off and Trulyn flinched at the sound. The gunshot sent cars swerving to the sides in a haze of panic, Trulyn clenched her jaw and began to move through the cars, another gunshot then another went off behind her and all the people out on the road became one huge mass of panic.

"Fucking shit!" Trulyn wrenched the gas as two cars swerved into each other, almost pinning her and causing an accident, she drove out in front and tried moving to the right hand lane to make a turn but another shot from behind at a clearer range made her dive back into the traffic. Trulyn shot up a middle finger as she moved between the cars, hyper aware of how close the vehicles were getting to her. There was another shot from behind that skimmed off the minivan that was just inches away from Trulyn's back tired and the van lurched forward in a panic, bumping the motorcycle. The bike wobbled for a moment before Trulyn got control again and she bit her lip, there was no way she's be able to survive out in the open, she was a clear target. Her best bet was to stay in traffic where they couldn't get a clear shot but that also meant they had the option of possibly hurting others to get to her.

"God I hope you get ass raped in jail for this you little shit!" Trulyn angrily said to herself as she looked back at Maxwell's SUV. She turned back and yanked on the gas again, sending the bike forward. She glanced down at the speed and the red needle was now flying up past sixty and climbing towards seventy. There was no way she'd be able to maintain that type of speed for long in the traffic so Trulyn decided to try to slow down and move up through the traffic one car at a time. The motorcycle was smaller than the SUV so if she played her cards right she'd be able to gain some distance without too much difficulty.

Trulyn started to make her move, sliding in between two cars then speeding slightly to get in front of another car. There was a gun shot and the cars all swerved and Trulyn clenched her jaw again.

"Ok, time to pick up the pace a little."

Trulyn sped up slightly and continued to climb through the traffic, when another shot was fired she simply moved with the cars and gained more distance. The sound of sirens descending into the area started to grow over the loud hums of the bike's engine and Trulyn smiled a bit in relief, Maxwell would either ditch the chase or he would be caught and she'd get away without a trace. A loud continued honk brought Trulyn out of her happy thoughts as the SUV shoved the surrounding cars out of the way like a battering ram.

"Holy fuck, how much money did you lose in that bet buddy!" Trulyn pushed the bike forwards in an attempt to stay out of the SUV's way but it was gaining ground and staying right on her tail. The police sirens were now catching up, the cops would be on the scene soon and they'd see that she was involved and Trulyn didn't want to get involved with the cops either. If they found out she was an underground fighter she'd get put away as well. As Trulyn tried to rack her brain for a good way to ditch Maxwell, he was inching even closer and now the top of the police cars were visible and all the surrounding cars were beginning to slow down. Trulyn had to make her move now, there was a red four door car to her left and it was slowing down just enough to let Trulyn slip by the front bumper but the SUV would be boxed in.

Trulyn hit the gas and slid in front of the car just by the skin of her teeth, there was angry screaming from the backseat of the SUV, Trulyn looked back and smiled at Maxwell before she slipped in front of another car and disappeared behind it, slowing her speed to hide herself behind the vehicle. The cops were now surrounding Maxwell's SUV and the big black car was slowing down and pulling over to the side. Trulyn slowed even further and made her escape down an off branching road and sped away into the night. There was no sound except for the loud hum of the engine as Trulyn made her way out of the area. The city streets became quiet and less crowded, the close knit buildings began to span out and lessen in number. Trulyn began to relax again and a smiled of sheer relief spread across her face in triumph. A few cars passed by before she began to wonder where she would go next, the fighting scene was becoming a bit old and the cops were cracking down even harder on underground rings all over the country. It was only a matter of time before Trulyn was caught, just like all of the others. Trulyn slowed her speed as she thought about her next move, she had drifted between cities ever since she was a kid and she was used the traveling.

The thought of her younger years brought a flash back of lonely memories flooding back to Trulyn, she had been raised in orphanage eventually ending up bouncing from foster home to foster home, not really feeling like she belonged in any place she sat in for too long. Then she was pulled into the world of fighting at the tender young age of 13 by one of the older kids that had been passing through one of the homes. All the anger she felt towards the world made her a beast in the ring and she thrived off the adrenaline rush but it was becoming tiresome now, years of doing the same thing over and over can take a lot out of anyone. Trulyn turned off an exit and headed out onto the expressway, billboards began to appear on the side of the road and Trulyn found herself reading them as they moved by. Most of them were food advertisements, some for hotels and gas stations or strip clubs but every now and again there were ones with vast pictures of the wilderness and a cheesy caption below about camping or the wild.

Trulyn got to thinking and as another stray wilderness billboard passed her she finally decided to head east, a road trip through the mountains and a clear shot out into the country. Maybe that's what she needed, a little get away from the torments of the big cities. Trulyn signaled to merge into the right hand lane in front of a semi and got off on the next exit, find somewhere to relax and get away from the world. The next few weeks were spent slowly riding her motorcycle and taking in the views, she found herself mainly being the only one out on the open road, a semi or a few cars here and there but for most of her journey she was left alone with her thoughts. The scenery changed from hills to flat lands then shifted into a dry dessert wasteland, the days out on the road became blisteringly hot and sweat was a permanent line along her forehead. Huge condors circled up over head, taking long curved paces as they lazily drifted higher and higher into the blue sky. Trulyn wondered if being an animal was easier than being a person, they sure as hell didn't have to put up with half of the crap humans worried themselves with. The ride began as a gruesome, hot whirlwind of dry air. The city gave way to rocky outcrops, single standing overhangs that appeared to be resolute soldiers facing against the battering winds and nothing but waves of sand that stretched on like an endless ocean. The bike rumbled along down the barren road without another soul in sight, the only thing that moved was the dried shrubs that spotted the sides of the road in their frail attempts to stay alive.

Trulyn took in the sights around herself, there was a certain beauty about the desert she couldn't dismiss and she reveled in the wild beauty of the surrounding area. As the day dragged on and Trulyn's hands became numb from the constant humming of the engine she noticed her speed was steadily decreasing and the constant drumming against her hands became less and less pronounced. Trulyn glanced down and grit her teeth, her gas gauge needle was thrown all the way over to the left and was pinned against the 'E'. The bike ebbed slowly down the road until finally it died and Trulyn was left sitting on the bike with her head in her hands. She glanced up to look down the road and then turned to look back from the way she came. It had been a few days since she had seen the last rest stop and she didn't know when she would see another. Without any other choice Trulyn slowly stretched and got off the bike, she grabbed the handle bars and prepared herself to start pushing. The beauty of the day had vanished, Trulyn could feel the sweat drip down her back and down her face into her eyes. Her hair had been tied up into a bun on the top of her head but the short hair around her neck was plastered against her skin, drenched with sweat. Her palms became raw and blistered from pushing the full weight of the bike down the empty road, the heat emanating off the black top felt as though it was beginning to melt through her boots.

The sweltering day turned into freezing night, for a moment the sudden drop in temperature felt refreshing on her heated skin, but it quickly turned into a bone chilling endeavor as she struggled to haul the heavy bike down the road. This had to have been the coldest night so far and she cursed herself for not picking up a heavier jacket. Once the sun had completely set and the darkness consumed the desolate landscape she completely lost sight of the road ahead of her, the dark pavement blending in with the blackness of night. Without the bikes headlights to guide her she had no choice but to stop and rest for the night. Wrestling her motorcycle into the sand at the side of the road she did her best to make up some sort of camp, using the bike and her larger bag to block most of the wind she pulled out a few t-shirts to use as a makeshift pallet in an attempt to protect her back from the chilled sand. Huddling into her thin hooded jacket she finally let the exhaustion she had been feeling take over and she fell into a restless sleep.

Trulyn awoke the next morning with the sun already set high in the sky, she mumbled to herself as she dusted the sand from her clothes and hair. She began to gather her things and wrap all of her equipment back up, reaching for one of her bags Trulyn caught a glimpse of something yellow out of the corner of her eye and she looked down. A fat scorpion was perched quietly on top of the bag only inches away from Trulyn's fingers, she screamed at the top of her lungs and chucked the bag as hard as she could. The scorpion and the bag were sent flying, the bag went in one direction while the scorpion was launched another way, all of its legs were out stretched in a panicked attempted to find something to hold onto as it landed out in the sand.

"Fuck this." Trulyn she groaned and got up to grab her bag and continued to pack her things away. When everything was strapped tightly to the bike again with no more incidences Trulyn got back on the road and continued on her way. The day seemed even hotter than before and Trulyn was sweating even worse, her shirt was sticking to her skin and creating a trapped feeling of hot desperation to escape it. She stopped briefly to strip her shirt leaving her in nothing but a sports bra. The relief and freedom of not having a shirt on came with the consequence of having the sun beat down on her back. Trulyn struggled, her breathing slightly heavy as she pushed through the heat with her head down to try to avoid the sun. She glanced up slightly and almost knocked the bike over at the sudden shock, she could see the roof of a small store and the distinct outline of a gas pump up ahead on the road. Trulyn felt herself fill with fresh determination and she began to push harder with the hope of the store in sight.

"You're the first person I've seen in a few days." The attendant behind the counter smiled, he had dirt lines caked into the creases of his face, his smile held a menagerie of teeth all ranging in different shades of yellow. Trulyn looked around awkwardly and creased her lips into a thin lined smile as she nodded her head, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with her choice in attire.

"You from the mountains out East?"

"West, I'm headed East," Trulyn replied trying to make it look like she was in deep thought as she tried to pick out a snack.

"You uh, don't look like you've got a lot on you."

"Excuse me?" Trulyn snapped her head to look over at the man behind the counter.

"Oh, beg your pardon, I meant your gear." The man smiled again but Trulyn blinked a few times and looked out towards her stuff.

"Oh, yeah I was in a bit of a rush." She felt her face get red at her sudden outburst and she resumed looking for a snack even though now all she wanted to do was get the hell out of the store. She could feel his eyes on her back as she wandered the store, finally Trulyn sighed and moved to the counter. She passed him a fist full of cash to fill the gas tank before turning on her heel and going back outside. Trulyn glanced over her shoulder and saw the man watching her from the window as she adjusted the strap on her sports and she inched herself in back of the gas pump so that it was blocking his view. Trulyn peaked around the side of the pump and the man smiled and waved at her, she quickly hid her face again and nervously waited for the tank to fill.

"Finally," Trulyn breathed as the tank reached its limit, she sighed pulling an old shirt out of her bag and slipping it over her head, it was one of the tops she usually worked out in, stretched thin with a scattering of holes here and there and the bottom half had been ripped away long ago leaving her mid drift exposed but at this point it was too hot for her to care. She jumped on and revved the engine before taking off in a cloud of dust. The open road welcomed her back and Trulyn settled back into place as she prepared for another long drive. The day slowly slipped into night fall but Trulyn kept on the road, she watched the stars start to blink into existence and fill up the sky. Shriveled wispy clouds hung in the air like deflated balloons, promising no sign of the relief of rain.

The desert seemed to go on forever as Trulyn kept her pace, there was nothing for miles and miles but sand and shriveled up shrubs and cactuses. The contrast of the clear blue sky and the dull earth tones of sun bleached rock never changed, day in and day out. There were few attempts to stop and rest for the night. Trulyn rested periodically through the days to give her back a rest but she found the desert to be a boring and desolate place.

Slowly but surely however the desert scene changed and greenery started to take back over again. She knew she was getting close but there was still a long leg of the journey to make before Trulyn was finally at her mysterious destination. Trulyn traveled farther out and the terrain started to become robustly hilly, the road winded up and down along the rolling land while huge trees began to dot the area. The scent of pine filled her nose as the wind passed her face and Trulyn breathed in deeply. Out in the distance Trulyn could see the hovering shadows of mountains, she smiled at how far she had come. All she had to do was make it past the mountains and start her life over on the other side. Trulyn stopped one last time to refuel and get another good stretch in, her stomach made a loud grumbled complaint as she stood waiting for the gas and Trulyn put a hand of her stomach in an attempt to calm it.

Trulyn deciding in eating before she continued, she cast one last glance at the steep mountain side before turning around. Deep angry moans bubbled in Trulyn's stomach, she laid a hand over her belly and tapped it gently as if she was calming a savage beast. The small town at the foot of the mountains was charming for its desolate surroundings. The area looked like it got rain about every damn day and everything just looked like it was soaked. There was one main street with shops, businesses and other buildings lined neatly up next to one another and a few couples wandering the street. Trulyn pulled her bike up to the front of a diner and made her way inside, there were a few people sitting around, a happy old couple by the far wall and a group of high schoolers with their letterman's jackets on sitting in a booth by the door.

They all gave Trulyn a curious glance as she walked in, she waited awkwardly for the single waitress to give her a place to sit by the front window and shuffled away to get Trulyn's drink. Trulyn sighed longingly out the window a she looked over the mountains, she was finding that she quite liked the sight of them hovering over the area, their tips hidden in a layer of low hanging clouds. The mountains looked so majestic but also mysterious, of course there were mountains out West but there was a different presence about the mountains here. The girl came back with a large glass of water with a thick lemon piece, Trulyn thanked the waitress and squeezed as much juice out of the lemon as she could before plunking the piece into the water. Trulyn mindlessly stirred the water with her left hand as she sucked the lemon off of her fingers. She heard the faint sound of whispering and managed to gaze right into the eyes of the young boy watching her.

They faltered for a moment at the intensity of Trulyn's gaze but one of the young men who was just starting to get stubble on his chin looked back up at her. The boy had a chiseled face, high cheekbones with full lips with a set of beautiful hazel eyes and was probably the biggest heart throb at his school. They sat there looking at one another for a moment that seemed longer than time, there was something about the boy that caught Trulyn off guard a bit.

"You're not from around here," He spoke up, his voice calm and level.

"No, I'm not. Kind of figured that was obvious, I'm from out West."

"Near the ocean?" The other boys seemed to ease into the background of the conversation.

"Not on the coast but close enough," Trulyn took a sip of water but her eyes didn't waver from the boys', there was something primal stirring inside her again.

"Me and my buddies were just talking about how cool your eyes look." The boy nudged the friend to his side and they all smiled.

"Oh uh, thanks."

"So what are you doing all the way out here?" the boy was getting comfortable in his seat now, he propped a hand under his chin as he inspected Trulyn.

"I'm making my way through the mountains and out on the other side."

"What's waiting for you on the other side?" The boy asked, his hazel eyes flashed a deep golden color as is curiosity spiked.

"Something new I suppose," Trulyn stated honestly, she took a moment as she spoke to look down at her glass then shifted her eyes back to the boy. He nodded as if that comment was enough to satisfy him and Trulyn felt herself fall into a relaxed composure.

"Ethan will you leave this poor girl alone!" the waitress scoffed at the boy, then shaking her head at all of them before returning to Trulyn to ask for her order. Trulyn skimmed through the menu, feeling the boy's eyes still on her but she ignored him. Her eyes skimmed over the breakfast foods, she hadn't had pancakes or bacon in a long time and her mouth watered at the thought. Trulyn asked the waitress if the breakfast foods were still available and the waitress gave her a funny look before nodding her head.

"Sorry, where I'm from after the morning ends breakfast is done for the day." Trulyn cocked a crooked grin at the waitress and she smiled back at her.

"Oh sweetie not around here, breakfast is open all day." She gave Trulyn a pat on the shoulder and made her way back to the kitchen.

Trulyn glanced in the direction of the boys; Ethan had stopped looking at her and was now in deep conversation with his friends. What in the world was that defensive feeling she got from talking to him? She shook the feeling off and returned to staring at the mountains outside.

"Kind of ominous don't you think?" Trulyn jumped at the sound of Ethan's voice, she turned to see he had slipped into the seat opposite from her and was looking up at the mountains too.

"Not really," She admitted but she watched him cautiously, something made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Ethan glanced her way and smiled ruefully while he leaned his head on his hand again.

"Really? A lot of the people down here think so."

"The people down here? Are you not from here?" Trulyn asked curiously, Ethan shook his head.

"No but I come to hang out here with these guys," Ethan jerked his head in the direction of the boys in back of him. Trulyn nodded awkwardly but tried to clear her throat.

"Why did you come over here?" She asked finally.

"Thought I'd come over and talk a bit more, your eyes are even cooler up close you know." Ethan made a motion towards his eyes as he referenced hers.

"Ethan! What did I tell you about bothering this young lady?" The waitress smacked Ethan lightly on the back of his shoulder with her pad.

"I wasn't causing any trouble," Ethan smirked at the waitress but he moved to get up anyway, Ethan might have been in high school but he was already much taller than Trulyn - then again everyone was taller than her - and she was twenty four. The waitress shooed Ethan away and apologized to Trulyn, she waved the incident off with a smile but cautiously watched Ethan saunter back to his friends before he sat down.

After that Trulyn was left alone with her thoughts as she ate, the boys had eaten and left and Trulyn watched them as they poured out onto the street. She mostly watched Ethan, they had stopped in front of her bike and Ethan turned to give her a thumbs up before turning and walking away with the others. Trulyn felt her cheeks get a little red at being caught watching them but didn't let the embarrassment get to her too much. She finished her meal, thanked the waitress and gave her as much of a good tip as she could without giving too much money, she was running low now. Trulyn stepped back out into the chilled air, humidity hung in the atmosphere so thickly that Trulyn could almost taste it as she breathed. It looked like a giant cloud of fog was rolling in and settling in the air for the evening, the tips of the mountains were already cast in a blanket of misty white.

Trulyn hopped on her bike, there was a thin layer of droplets that had settled and Trulyn frowned as she felt her jeans soak up the moisture. The engine roared to life and the sound seemed to echo through the trees as she backed out of her spot and turn to make her way back up the road. The road was calling to her and Trulyn smiled to herself as she rode up the winding way into the mountains. She didn't think much of the fog while it was still bright out but as the day slowly edged into night and the sun dipped below the horizon the fog grew heavier and heavier until the road was hardly visible a few feet in front of the bike. A few times Trulyn had thought about turning back and going down to the town to stay the night but she had been already riding for several hours and was now too far into the mountains to turn back. Trulyn gazed down to her right, the side rail dropped off into a fog covered oblivion below where trees sprouted up like ghosts.

The road continued on forever with not a single other vehicle. The world seemed to become very empty again as Trulyn rode on but at least with the desert she could see what was in front of her. The sky slowly grew darker as Trulyn traveled on, she could hardly make out the road three inches in front of the bike so she slowed her speed a bit. Trulyn flicked on her brights but it only made the fog worse.

"Shit," Trulyn hissed through her teeth, very soon she wouldn't be able to see anything at all. As if the fog and darkness weren't enough the road started to bend and curve in deep and very dangerous turns as it hugged the mountain side. Trulyn's senses heightened at the awareness of the danger, her eyes weren't able to focus well through the fog so her hearing seemed to triple in strength but the only thing that rang in her ears was the loud moan of the engine. Trulyn found herself driving blind and deaf through the fog but wasn't able to stop and pull off the road anywhere. Her side only had the railing and a steep drop off and the other side of the road hugged the mountain side.

Trulyn was forced to keep going due to the threat of being hit by a vehicle if one decided to pop up out of nowhere. As Trulyn rode she found herself glancing up at the sky, it was hardly visible and the stars were hidden behind the curtain of fog. It made Trulyn sigh with a hint of sadness, she liked riding at night and being able to see the moon and the stars, it was very calming. As Trulyn caught herself in deep thought something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Before she could react a large object was barreling into her from the mountain side, it moved so fast that Trulyn didn't have time to react as the large mass tumbled head first into her bike. The whole scene happened in just a few seconds and suddenly Trulyn found herself floating in mid-air before crashing down over the blacktop, she could feel her body roll and then skid to a stop. Unable to comprehend what had just happened, Trulyn's mind went blank.


	3. Chapter 3

I just wanted to let the few people that have read our story that D and I will keep posting chapters even though this particular fanfic isn't as popular as we had hoped. This is a personal project that we plan on finishing and it is possible that once we finish this story there may be a sequel. I do encourage everyone to leave a review or PM me. I would really like to know what you all think about what has been posted so far and how you think we can improve. Thank you so much for reading and I hope to hear from you soon.

\- M

Trulyn could feel herself slowly drift back into consciousness, the familiar steady beeping of a heart monitor making her feel anxious. She let her eyelids slide open blinking rapidly in a poor attempt to clear her foggy vision. She was surrounded by a sea of white; a small framed picture of a vase full of purple flowers was the only source of color in the room. As Trulyn looked around the room she attempted to sit up, a sharp pain shot through her chest at the sudden movement and Trulyn let her body fall back onto the thin mattress. Trulyn peered down the front of her hospital gown and was shocked to find a thick layer of gauze that started just above her hip, traveling the length of her torso and wrapped around her left shoulder. She frowned with disbelief, what had happened to her? The last thing she remembered was leaving the dinner and riding up the mountain. She didn't know how she got to the hospital or even how anyone found her. She felt the ache in her ribs slowly begin to fade and tried to sit back up again, slowly this time. Her whole body protested and her joints felt stiff as she moved. She expected to feel the searing pain of a broken bone but to her surprise the worst of her injuries seemed to be bruising and road rash. The beeping of the monitor started to speed to match her quickening heart rate as her eyes followed the wires and tubes to the I.V. Connected her forearm. Reaching over she flipped a switch on the heart monitor instantly silencing the dull beeping of the machine and pulled the clip off of her finger. Tru peeled back the medical tape and quickly removed the needle from her arm, a little rougher than she had intended, clamped a hand over the spot where it had been in place. Blood immediately started flow in between her fingers but stopped soon after he applied more pressure. She needed to leave. She hated hospitals, even more so she hated I.V. injections; they always irritated her skin and began to hurt after a while. Slowly she pushed herself up off the bed, carefully testing her wobbly legs as she inches across the room with her hand still clamped around her forearm.

Before she could reach the door a nurse pushed it open from the other side carrying a bundle of fresh linens and a new set of bandages. Trulyn tried her best to hide her distaste for the woman – after all, it wasn't her fault she got stuck taking care of the one patient that wanted absolutely nothing to do with her - but she could fee her skin prickle uncomfortably at the sight of her. She raised her hand to try and quiet the woman but realized her mistake when the nurse's surprised expression changed to one of pure horror at the sight of her bloody palm.

"Oh my," The nurse gasped putting down the linen and hurriedly maneuvered Trulyn back into bed, Trulyn scoffed and tried to reassure the nurse she was fine but the nurse simply kept prodding her back to a sitting position on the side of the bed. The nurse then turned and rushed out of the room, she left the door open and Trulyn was again left alone with her own thoughts as the machines above the bed were now complaining loudly having been reactivated by the exasperated woman that had fled the room.

A tall man dressed in a full and obvious doctor's outfit entered the room with the nurse on his heels. He had short brown hair that matched his deep chocolate brown eyes and he was staring intently at Trulyn. He spoke a little with the nurse then she left to go get some things, the doctor moved to Trulyn's side and took a small flashlight out of his coat pocket.

"Ma'am do you remember your name?" The doctor asked in a bit of a louder tone.

"Trulyn Talia Tulie," She replied, a bit put off by the doctor's tone. It wasn't like she couldn't hear him.

"Do you know where you are?" The doctor shined the light in both of Trulyn's eyes, one at a time.

"A carnival?" Trulyn shot back dryly batting the flashlight away from her face. The doctor gave her a look similar to one someone would give a child that was misbehaving in public and resumed his examination. He took some time examining her sight and her hearing, he moved to checking her reflexes and seeing how her motor skills were doing.

"Well Miss Tulie you are at the Oak Shore hospital, you got into a nasty accident near the base of the mountains." The doctor paused to look back into Trulyn's eyes and suddenly she was getting the strange feeling she had when she talked with that boy at the diner, for some reason his name escaped her as she focused on the doctor. "You're lucky to be alive." He finished as he gazed into her eyes.

"What hit me?" Trulyn wasn't necessarily looking for the correct answer but she wanted at least something to help her understand what happened to her.

"We have a lot of deer up in this area, I suspect one got spooked and darted out in front of you." The doctor said in a matter-of-fact tone as he waited for the nurse, "The paramedics that picked you up found you lying a good 60ft away from what was left of your bike. The bag that you had strapped across your back absorbed most of the impact when you hit the pavement but there was some bruising to your ribs which it presumably from the initial impact causing you to be thrown into the handle bars. Besides that it's mostly just a few scrapes, bruises, and minor road burn. Though you do have a laceration across the left side of your face near your hairline from the shield of your helmet cracking but that was stitched and shouldn't take too long to heal." The doctor said in a matter-of- fact tone as he waited for the nurse, he reached up and pressed a few buttons on the headboard to stop the constant complaints of the machines and then pulled up an extra chair that was sitting beside the wall at the head of the bed and sat down in front of Trulyn.

"May I take another look at your eyes? I've never gotten the chance to study someone who has complete heterochromia before."

"Oh uh sure," Trulyn shrugged her shoulders but felt the surge of nervousness shoot up her spine, the doctor smiled which didn't exactly put her at ease. The hair on the back of her neck was still standing up. The doctor moved in close and put his hands on her face, his palms were strong and a bit rough which made Trulyn immediately regret the decision she had made to let him get close. In any other situation she would have thought the doctor to be very attractive but something about him, something in his eyes made her nervous. The doctor very softly examined both of her eyes, taking his time looking at each one and shining the stupid flashlight into her eyes again.

"Normally someone with heterochromia doesn't have such a drastic difference in color in the iris, however yours are quite stunning. Deep brown in your left and such an intense light blue in your right, normally heterochromia is passed down from a parent, did either of your parents have heterochromia as well?"

"I wouldn't know, never met 'em."

"Oh well I'm terribly sorry to hear that," the doctor mumbled.

 _No you're not._ Trulyn thought to herself. The nurse came back just in the nick of time and she handed a clip of papers to the doctor, she gave Trulyn a warry smile that Trulyn returned it with just as much awkwardness as the petite little blonde nurse handed her the bag that had made it out of the crash. The bag was frayed and ripped on the outside from the crash and looked as if it had skidded across the road almost as much as she had, Trulyn checked inside and was relieved to find some of her clothes inside still intact.

"Since there's nothing too major we need to worry about and you're clearly able to move around on your own you'll be free to go after you sign a few release forms."

"Well then come on Doc, let's get this show in the road I've got places to be," Trulyn sighed and made a move to stiffly get to her feet and swayed a bit as the room started to spin.

"Be Careful! You're in the peak of physical wellness and you should be able to move around a little quicker after a few days, but if I was you I wouldn't be doing anything crazy for the next six to seven weeks."

Trulyn fought the urge to slap her palm to her face, this was just fantastic. She gave a short nod to the doctor and he assisted her to the bathroom door before parting ways with her, the nurse avoided eye contact with Trulyn and followed the doctor down the hall. She thought the two of them were very odd but didn't think too much of it. Trulyn got changed as quickly as she could into the jeans and black shirt and reemerged from the bathroom and looked around, she smiled when she saw her boots sitting under the hospital bed, they were scuffed up but still wearable. The journey out of the hospital left her with a growing pain that was becoming a throbbing mass under her skin, beating at her ribs. Trulyn glanced over her shoulder back into the front doors of the hospital at the ladies behind the front desk, they were speaking with their heads down low chattering in a fevered manor as they took a few glances in her direction. She frowned at them but turned and made her way to the exit, she really didn't know where to go but the first thing she decided to do was see if her bike was even in one piece still.

The town she had ended up in was very small, almost all of the buildings were old fashion and made out of logs or stone, sitting together in two neat little rows along the street. There were more people out that Trulyn would expect on such a cloudy day and everyone that crossed her or looked her way gave her a very odd feeling. Trulyn could feel herself become very anxious around these people but she didn't necessarily know why, all she knew was that she really didn't feel safe. She tried multiple times to ask for directions but everyone she crossed avoided contact or pretended like she wasn't there. The walking soon became agonizing, Trulyn had to fight with all of her strength to keep herself moving. The small town was a bigger challenge than what she thought and it took her more than twice as long to walk to the other side. As Trulyn grew closer to the edge of the town she noticed a big black dog sniffing at the ground from across the street, it shied away from a man walking in the opposite direction. The dog tucked its tale, lifting one front paw of the ground and ducking low to its belly. Trulyn frowned at the scene and stopped for a second to watch the odd interaction, the man had no interest in the dog and kept walking as if the animal wasn't even there. When he passed the dog hesitantly got up off of its haunches and sniffed around carefully before he glanced up and caught the sight of Trulyn. The dog perked his ears and his head shifted slightly to the side at her. Trulyn took a long glance at the dog as it watched her, its tail began to wag slightly. Trulyn smiled at the dog then turned and slowly started to continue her walk. There was a hunched little shop at the end of the street with walls that had long ago been painted white but now were badly flaking and the under colors of the previous paint were starting to emerge. Behind the building there was a tall chain link fence with barbwire laced through the top, inside the fence was rows and rows of old cars. There was a large sun bleached sign above the building with the distinct outline of a car on it. Trulyn took in a breath before opening the door, hoping she would get some answers. There was an old worn bell that dinged dully as the door swung open, a single man behind the counter turned in his chair to look up at Trulyn, his glasses slid half way down the bridge of his nose.

"What can I do for you?" When the man noticed Trulyn his mood seemed to change, he laid a few papers down on his desk and sighed as if she was the last person he wanted to have a conversation with.

"Hi, I was in an accident up on the road and I've just been searching around to see if my bike made it out in one piece or not."

"Oh you mean that heap of scrap metal that was brought in here last night?" The man slightly chuckled as he responded.

"I guess that answers my question." Trulyn said with agitation and frowned at the man and the rude way he talked back to her. "I had another bag with me at the time and it didn't show up at the hospital, did it come in with the bike?" she asked leaning against the counter. In any normal situation she would have given the man a piece of her mind but with her injuries she didn't want to push it. The man grunted and turned back around in his chair and began to ignore her, with a frown Trulyn weighed her options with trying to talk with the man more or dropping the situation and leaving the shop. She didn't necessarily have good insurance , or any insurance at all for that matter, and trying to deal with the bike even farther would become a huge hassle she didn't need or could afford, if it was hauled in for scrap metal Trulyn thought it best to drop the whole matter altogether. Trulyn sauntered slowly back out the front door to come face to face with the black dog, she was shocked at first to see him but the dog simply wagged his tail as he looked up at her.

Trulyn glanced back inside at the man but he was already busy with something else, Trulyn turned back to look at the dog who was now pawing the air at her. He was a big dog, totally black except for one small white patch on his chest. He had a big mane like a border collie but had the face of a German Shepard.

"Get that stray out of here, I don't want him by the building!" the man barked from behind the desk, Trulyn frowned at him and shot the guy a middle finger before slamming the door as best she could. So the dog was a stray? Trulyn thought as she held out her hand to let the dog sniff her, he gave a little huff and gently licked her hand, hesitation bubbling in his eyes. Trulyn reached out to touch the dog but before she could get close enough it shied away.

"Hey it's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." Trulyn hunched down and stuck her hand out again, the dog watched her nervously from a distance. She frowned sadly, it was a beautiful dog and she couldn't believe no one had taken him in. Trulyn gave the dog one last look before getting up as gently as she could and making her way back the way she came, there had been a tavern sitting almost at the center of the town and Trulyn wanted to find a place to sit down and relax her ribs and think of a plan on what she was going to do next. The dog trotted along right on Trulyn's heel, not getting too close to her as he silently followed. She tried a few times to shoo the dog away but he simply sat down as soon as Trulyn turned to face him and looked up at her with sad eyes.

There was loud music playing from the dark wooded tavern building and Trulyn went to investigate it out of curiosity. It was sitting only a few feet from the forest line that dropped off immediately into a steep hill, the view might have been nice if it didn't look ominously dangerous. As she got closer there was the word Tavern lined in bright red neon above the front door on the face of the building making it stand out from all of the other shops that surrounded it. The parking lot was covered in a thick layer of loose stone gravel and her feet crunched through the stones as she made her way over. Trulyn gingerly walked up the stairs, it was like torture on her ribs and with every step she took it made her want to cry. The stray dog hesitantly followed her up as well, eyeing the area carefully while he stayed glued to her side.

"Hey whoa there you need some help?" a concerned voice came up from behind Trulyn and she turned slightly to look over her shoulder and her jaw about dropped off. There stood a man well over six feet tall with dirty blonde hair that fell in a long messy tumble around his face and a short beard to match. His blue eyes were the color of deep tropical water and they smiled back at Trulyn.

"Uh," was all that came out of Trulyn's open mouth, the man smiled again and put down the large crates had had been carrying. Trulyn's eyes widened at the man's muscles, he was built like a tank. His arm muscles were thicker than Trulyn's thigs and his chest; she couldn't keep her eyes off of his broad chest. Trulyn could hear her blood rushing in her ears as she raced to find something to say but she shifted her body weight without thinking and instantly Trulyn's face went white with pain. The man lunged forward and caught Trulyn as she began to topple over, he held her very gingerly as Trulyn gasped for a breath. The dog growled at the sudden movement and tried to step between the two.

"Quit it," Trulyn waved her hand at the dog but the animal was still eyeing the stranger with a dangerous gaze, his lips curled back slightly to reveal the tips of his surprisingly large teeth.

"You alright? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?" the man sounded concerned but Trulyn tensed and shook her head and let him help her up, he glanced at the dog as it shifted and sat at Trulyn's side, half of his body in front of her in a protective stance.

"No it's fine I just came from there."

"Ah, I see." The man leaned against the wooden rail a few steps down from Trulyn, he smiled as his eyes locked with hers and she smiled back, she had the same sense of worry about him but it wasn't like the need she had to defend herself against everyone else she had talked with.

"What happened?"

"I got in an accident up the road, something hit me and I woke up in the hospital here."

"Oh so that was you who got rushed in late last night," he stated plainly noticing the odd look she was giving him, "Sorry news around here travels fast." He said sheepishly with a grin that made Trulyn just want to nod her head at everything he was saying.

"I guess so," Trulyn mused, rubbing her ribs gently.

"I'm Rainer Blackwood," Rainer stuck his large hand out to Trulyn and she stuck her own slender hand into his.

"Trulyn."

"That's a very pretty name Miss Trulyn, seems the town stray has taken a liking to you."

"Yeah, he's sticking to me like Velcro." Trulyn patted the dog's head.

"He doesn't like the people around here so you might have made a friend for life," Rainer mused "You need some help getting into the tavern?"

"Sure," Trulyn smiled and let Rainer help her up the stairs, when she was safely at the top he jogged back down and retrieved the crates, walking them up the stairs and placing them by the front door so they were off the ground. The dog gave her an almost worried look, he sat off to the side of the front door and watched her as Trulyn was ushered inside.

"I'll come back to get those later," Rainer smiled then helped Trulyn in, the whole bar was dark, low glowing lights gave little light to the area but all that Trulyn knew was instantly when she walked through the front door everyone inside went quiet. It was like a dark ball of angry energy that raked at Trulyn and made her want to back track her happy ass out of the tavern.

"Don't mind them," Rainer sent a beautiful smiled down to Trulyn and carefully ushered her farther in. The whole tavern smelt like fresh cut wood and spices, Trulyn breathed in a few times deeply to try to get as much of the heavenly scent as possible. They made their way to the bar where a young woman with poorly curled blonde hair and thick makeup practically snarled at Trulyn as she sat down on one of the stools. In an instant Rainer was towering the girl, her eyes wide with apology as Rainer looked down at her, he didn't exactly look angry but his eyes still pierced her in a dangerous gaze. The girl dipped her head and left the bar to Rainer, he turned and the smile was flipped back on like a switch as he gazed down at Trulyn.

"Now young lady what would you like to drink?"


End file.
